MODEL ON TEST: SCORPIONISSIMA – MILEAGE – 6,907

With the current plague of potholes across the UK, I assumed it was probably that which had triggered the Abarth’s tyre pressure monitor warning on the way home from the chip shop – but no, the offside rear tyre turned out to have an absolutely massive screw embedded in it. Terrific. My first thought was to get a mobile tyre firm to come and fix it and, having googled a few names, arranged for a company (unnamed here for now, as I’m in the process of reporting them to Trading Standards) to come round and sort it. This turned out to be a mistake. I sent a picture of the screw in the tyre, and they assured me that it could be fixed for £99 all-in. I paid the £50 deposit and waited for them to arrive; the website said they’d be there in 20 to 30 minutes and, sure enough, just four hours later there they were. The man took one look at it and said “No, that can’t be fixed, you have to replace it.” He then tried to sell me a budget tyre for £300. (“Funnily enough, I’ve got one on the van.”) So I politely declined, and he fleeced me for another £20 as a ‘call-out fee top-up’. But not before telling me that “It would be illegal for me to fix this. But I’m happy to do it for you if you want…”

So, lesson learned, go with a company you’ve heard of. Kwik-Fit readily agreed to come round and do the job, although the surprising rarity of the OEM Michelin tyres meant they were completely unable to find one so, after a couple of weeks of searching, instead brought a pair of Continentals (at Stellantis’ request – it’s their car, of course) and replaced both rears to match. Efficient, friendly service, easy peasy.

So, with the Abarth out of action for a fortnight, I found myself in a Geely Starray. Something I’d hitherto had very little interest in, but it’s useful to try these things. I don’t really like big SUVs and I don’t really like cheap Chinese cars, so this was never going to begin well, but actually after 600-odd miles in the Starray, I was pleasantly surprised by it. No, it’s not particularly interesting, but it’s not meant to be. I approach cars from the perspective of a nerdy enthusiast, but that’s my problem; for a lot of people a car is just an appliance like a toaster or a washing machine, it simply has to do its job, and for those people the big Geely offers remarkable value. It starts at £30k – I had the bells-and-whistles one at £36k – and for that you get a clever plug-in hybrid system that serves up highly impressive mpg, the audio system is outstanding (in terms of sound quality, the radio is a bit hit-and-miss), and it’s super comfy on a long journey. I don’t want one, because the safety equipment bongs at you for absolutely everything (most of which you can switch off, but that involves a full minute of going through menus at the start of every journey) and frankly it’s too big, plus the exterior styling is so boring it actually makes you yawn – but if you want a big load-lugger that’s affordable, well- equipped and just does its job without fuss, it’s worth considering. It was certainly very easy to live with, and the kids liked it.

Now, back to the Abarth. It’s been parked under a tree for two weeks waiting for its new tyres, so it’s absolutely plastered in bird poo. I had better unpack the detailing kit, this could take some time…

DANIEL BEVIS

WHAT’S HOT: Kwik-Fit coming to the rescue.

WHAT’S NOT: Being fleeced by cowboys.

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FACTS & FIGURES

ARRIVED: 11th December 2025

PRICE WHEN NEW: £39,885

PRICE AS TESTED: £39,885

ECONOMY: 3.4 miles/per kWh (official WLTP) 3.1 miles/per kWh (on test)

COSTS: £451 (2x new tyres due to puncture)

FAULTS: None